Dickinson to Durban » Archive
In my mind, in my heart.
Claire Tighe ’13 The opportunity to visit a children’s trust in Africa is a great privilege. During my visit with the Makaphutu and Lily childrens’ trusts in the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa, I experienced first hand the true need that these people have. For someone who has read endless articles, seen documentaries, written papers, and discussed in various classes how HIV/AIDS and poverty have ravaged South Africa, I had only experienced this need with my head. As a westerner, I may never understand this life, but during my time in this region I began to formulate and understanding for it with my heart, not just my head. I felt the hands of women who wanted to work, of children who wanted to eat. I heard the laughter of people with … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Mosaic Action
COP17 Outcomes: A Feminist Perspective
Claire Tighe ’13 During our travels in the week following the COP17 conference in Durban, many of the people we met asked us about the outcomes of the meeting. I was particularly discouraged by the time that I reached the Dulles airport in Washington, D.C. when a American youth who had just spent her semester in the southern African region asked what the outcome was and if it was suitable to us. With my tongue in my cheek I muttered, “Depends on who you ask.” If you ask Todd Stern, one of the leading negotiators for the United States delegation, you will find that ” ‘the Durban outcome was a very significant and to some extent surprising outcome,’” and that “ ‘more was accomplished than people anticipated and certainly more than … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change, Environmental Justice, Environmental Politics, Featured, Key COP17 Issues, Mosaic Action, Student Research
Reflection on our time in the Valley of 1000 Hills
By: Anna McGinn ’14 Many people we interacted with while in the Valley of 1000 Hills could never imaging the comfortable lifestyle we all returned to after our time in the Valley was complete. Despite the fact that the children we played with at the orphanage and the people we distributed food to have very little, they were proud and happy with what they had. It was extremely humbling to see the sustained smiles on their … Read entire article »
Filed under: Mosaic Action
The meaning of community.
By Emily Bowie ’14 “In developing countries, the norm is for about 2% of children to be classed as orphans, but in South Africa, that figure is more like 17%.” ( United Nations Children Fund) My American naivety once again became apparent to me during the third week of our trip in South Africa. We were told that we were visiting an orphanage and doing some volunteer work and other than that we had little idea of what … Read entire article »
Filed under: Mosaic Action
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